J. Farmers

After the last few scrumptious posts, I hate to throw up these pictures of food found on the buffet at J. Farmers in downtown Wilmington…but life goes on, glamorous or not.

On one of my walks to the Riverfront Market last December, I poked my head into J. Farmers having never heard of or seen the place. What I saw when I walked in the door were two huge buffets – one hot and one cold.

Buffets are scary, yet compelling. It could be really bad, but the whole world is yours. The only reason I came back to J. Farmer’s is because on the initial walk through I spied sushi, tofu, snow peas, and sriracha sauce on the buffet – and a couple of Asian women running the place. I knew they had stuck some goodies on the buffet.

I brought the boyfriend with me on the return trip, because I knew I would need help sampling the hundred plus items on the buffet. These two plates only represent a smattering of what was available on the buffet, not to mention that you can order traditional breakfast, sandwiches (including a veggie burger and a veggie wrap), and fried sides from the grill counter.

My plate starting at 12 o’clock:
Mac and Cheese – Very Stouffer’s.
Asparagus – Nice, but didn’t like gobs or dried oregano sprinkled on top.
Marinated Mushrooms – I love canned mushroom and marinated mushrooms. It’s my thang. These were in Italian dressing. Eh.
Veggie Sushi – Normal for buffet sushi.
Hard Boiled Egg – Not many signs on the buffet. I thought these were deviled eggs. I love deviled eggs, but hate hard boiled eggs. Mayo works wonders!
Silken Tofu – I had to get the tofu even though I hate silken tofu. I knew no one in would eat it, and I didn’t want it to feel unloved.
Kimchi Radish – Yum.
Sesame Asian Greens – Yes, ma’am!
Chicken Salad – Need more signs. Cubed says potato salad to me; shredded says chicken salad. Oops.
Fried Plantains (center)– Can do no wrong.His plate starting 12 o’clock:
Rice and Potatoes – Don’t hate, but I forgot if I even tasted this.
Chinese Lomein – Greasy just like on Chinese buffet.
Mac and Cheese – Everyone’s doing it!
Avocado – Fresh.
Sushi - Avocado and fake crab.
Cucumber and Tomato – Yep.
Marinated Mushrooms – Again.
Date – Nice find.
Sesame Asian Greens – Great minds think alike.
Kiwi – Fresh.
Dolma – Sticky outside.
Spinach and Cheese Casserole (center) – Very Stouffers, but good.

I know. That was thrilling! By no means is J. Farmers a place I’d go out of the way to eat at, but if I were stuck downtown in one of the high-rise buildings, forgot my lunch, and was jonesing for a buffet (all things that will never happen), this would be my game plan …

Build a salad. It's light and $5.99/pound can get expensive fast. They had some fresh and interesting items on the cold buffet that you don’t normally see at salad bars – kiwi, dates, snow peas, asparagus, tomato and mozzarella salad, and a whole bunch of other goodies I can't recall.

Or, go Asian. Grab some steamed rice from the hot bar, then head back to the cold bar and pile on kimchi, sesame greens, snow peas, tofu, and sriracha sauce.

For dessert, get a few fried plantains.

Dude, someone needs to pay me for the investigative work I do!

J. Farmers
809 N. Market St., Wilmington, DE 19801
302-777-4459
Mon.-Sat., 7 a.m.-5 p.m.